ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT
used for these fl ights are perfectly suited
to conversion.
It will be faster and cheaper for the operators
working these short routes to convert, plus
they can continue to use aircraft they already
know. Converting costs 20% of the cost of
buying new,” he says.
The magni250 is a 280kW motor that
produces 380ps (375hp), while the magni500
is a 560kW motor that produces 760ps (750hp)
– both turn at 1,900rpm; the same speed
as the propeller. This has allowed MagniX
to completely eliminate the need for a gearbox.
“Traditional internal combustion engines
turn at much higher speeds to create that
power. Because the electric motor turning
at 1,900rpm creates the same power, you can
go directly to the propeller and eliminate the
whole gearbox,” says Ganzarski.
Both motors are currently in
assembly and completing ground
testing. The fi rst set of tests are
taking place in an enclosed test cell,
turning against a dynamometer.
“That allows you to test in a safe,
enclosed fashion. There’s no
turning, no propeller and a lot of
sensors – temperature, vibration,
noise, power. We can ensure the motor
performs the way we’ve designed it to,”
Ganzarski explains.
Iron bird
This month MagniX expects to start testing
using its iron bird. The iron bird has been
developed from the front end of an aircraft,
which has had most of its equipment removed
and replaced with the electric motor attached
directly to the propeller.
Ganzarski says, “The iron bird testing allows
us to go beyond testing the motor. We can test
the whole system: the motor, cooling,
propeller, governor. This is great because it
allows for realistic testing right before fl ight.
“Then, in August we’ll move from the iron
bird to integrating the system into the
seaplanes and Alice. From there we’ll
The move from traditional to electric propulsion has required test engineers
to upskill and for departments to recruit for skills they haven’t needed before.
Todd Spierling, chief engineer for advanced technology at United
Technologies Advanced Projects (UTAP) notes that the breadth of
knowledge test engineers need has become much greater.
“Hydraulic flight controls had very little interaction with electrical systems
on earlier craft but that’s no longer the case. As the systems become more
complex the number of behavioral modes goes up by an order of magnitude,
so our test engineers need to be able to address all these different situations,”
he says. “Automation, scripting and data analysis are all skill sets that have
had to evolve as we have to validate all these cases by running endless tests
and interpret that data,” he adds.
For Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus’s general manager, electrification, it’s been
the move to much higher voltage levels that’s required the acquisition of
new skillsets in his teams.
“High power energy storage, integration of batteries, they’re definitely
new ares we’ve upskilled in. We’ve got a lot of competency at Airbus from
our activities in space, where we’ve been designing batteries for satellite
106 // July 2019 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
applications that need to last years, sometimes decades. But for high
power electric motors and power distribution we’ve brought in
talent from the rail and energy supply industries, who’ve had
experience in these areas.”
start ground testing the planes, start low-speed
and then high-speed taxiing, before takeoff
and then in-fl ight testing.”
The fi rst test fl ight is expected to take place
this November with certifi cation of the motors
expected by the end of 2021 and entry into
service by 2022.
The certifi cation requirements are yet
to be made clear, but Ganzarski expects his
propulsion systems to be held to the same
stringent reliability, consistency and safety
levels that the global regulatory authorities
expect from today’s non-electric systems.
“We expect nothing to be easier because we’re
trying something new – on the contrary we
expect to have to prove the electric aspect
thoroughly, that the batteries are safe and our
aircraft are as reliable and safe as traditional
craft today, he says.
Regulation versus innovation
Ganzarski doesn’t believe it is possible for
regulation to keep up with innovation, nor
should they attempt to. “It’s easy for industry
to downplay and criticise regulatory bodies
for not being infl exible, or slow, but they have
a very hard job ensuring things are safe.
“However, I do expect that they learn what’s
going on ahead of time, so when the time
comes to certify they’re ready to go. We’re
working with the FAA and they’re very much
leaning forward, trying to learn about
electronic propulsion.
“Regulators learned a tough lesson with
drones. They didn’t know what regulations
were needed and there was chaos. But we’ve
been in conversation with several regulatory
bodies for some time and they’ve been
learning, testing, evaluating. They’ve already
begun to put together the precursors of what
the future regulations will be.”
TESTING THE TESTERS
4. The MagniX motor is being rigorously
tested in enclosed cells
5. Systems for United Technologies’
Project 804 X-Plane will be tested at
The Grid
6. Todd Spierling, the chief engineer
for advanced technology at United
Technologies Advanced Projects
4
6
5
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